Merimbula man sucked in by scammer

A
Merimbula man is probably rueing the day he used the internet for a currency
exchange after he lost several thousand dollars to overseas fraudsters.

Inspector
Jason Edmunds, of Bega Police has warned local residents to exercise caution in
their dealings with internet companies after the Merimbula man lost $5000 in an
internet fraud.

Inspector
Edmunds said: “The victim was making arrangements to transfer Australian money
into Thai currency and was dealing with a Thai company online.”

The
transfer was never made and the man lost the entire $5000.

Inspector
Edmunds cautioned: “If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”

Internet
crimes and frauds have become a major issue for police throughout Australia. In
2012 the financial losses reported to the Australian Competition and Consumer
Commission totalled more than $93 million, a nine per cent increase from the
previous year.

Inspector
Edmunds said: “Internet fraud has become one of the biggest crime issues for
Australians. A lot of people are losing money from their homes over the
internet.”

The
ACCC through its Scamwatch website (www.scamwatch.gov.au)
offers a lot of advice about online transactions and email scams and points out
that there are no get-rich-quick schemes: the only people who make money are
the scammers.

The
excellent Hoax Slayer website (www.hoax-slayer.com) also keeps up to date with
scam emails and those irritating “pass this on” emails which often contain
completely fabricated stories.